Kohli sheds limelight as Indian fans cheer success

Sydney: As India continued its march towards a series win over Australia on day 3 of the SCG test between India and Australia, the Indian supporters celebrated the heroes of the Indian team in the test. The latest chant from the Bharat Army was “Anhone ko hone karde, hone ko anhone, Jaddu-uu, Kulde-eep, Vi-haaa-riii” (Jadeja, Kuldeep, Vihari made the impossible possible). Jadeja and Kuldeep are considered India’s spinning weapons on the traditional SCG pitch which normally takes the spin on or after day 3 of the test match. Their bowling will be crucial for India to win this game as they have to take 20 wickets on a flat pitch not offering the seamer much.

Middle-order batsman, Vihari made an important 42 runs in the first innings of this test batting at number 6 before being given out on review. At the MCG test, he soaked up valuable time as the makeshift opener to take the shine of the new ball. Other important contributions have come from Pujara with 3 centuries as the leading run scorer for India and Rishabh Pant with his 155 not out in the SCG test.

He has also made valuable 30 odd scores throughout the test series, to become India’s second highest scorer after Pujara and also has shown incredible energy behind the stumps in his wicketkeeper role. He had a verbal duel with Australian skipper at the MCG test, in which Tim Paine famously invited him to babysit his kids and later Paine’s wife posted a photo of Pant with their kids on Twitter and comments – “Best Babysitter”.

India’s captain Virat Kohli has had a quiet series comparatively, with the highlight being his century in the Perth test which was a losing cause for India. Not that he would be complaining! His teammates have performed and have India on the verge of a historic test series win in Australia. The media has been fascinated with Kohli and the way he has captained the Indian team. There were also high expectations from his batting given he made 4 centuries on India’s last tour to Australia.

The Aussie team may have planned to keep Kohli quiet as a tactic to keep the Indian team on the back foot, reminiscent of the days when Tendulkar was playing in the team and taking his wicket early assured an Indian loss more often than not. Kohli’s team has proven itself to be much more resilient and balanced. Virat himself has grown as a captain through the course of the series to be calmer and less emotional on the ground than at the start.

Also seen in the stands of SCG was Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, the Indian cricket teams unofficial mascot. He is present at most of the games India plays and has the Indian flag with the words “Miss you Tendulkar” painted on his upper body. He was a crowd favorite and at one point, a queue formed with fans looking to take selfies with him. He obliged and did not refuse anyone.